1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to article dispensers, particularly to such dispensers designed to dispense by stripping off surface adhered articles.
2. Description of Related Art
Commonly, dispensers are designed to deliver individually wrapped or unwrapped articles to the user. Such dispensers have been designed and used in the following ways; by consumers to organize and dispense personal items, such as medications; by businesses to deliver products to customers; and by manufacturers to contain and dispense materials needed in the manufacturing process. However, none of these dispensers can unwrap an individual article during the process of dispensing the article.
In the case of wrapped articles, inventors have created several types of dispensers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,540 to Beasley et al. discloses a package of multiple dispensers. However, the articles are not unwrapped as part of the dispensing process.
The prior art does not show a wrapper that works in conjunction with a dispenser to unwrap the article as it is dispensed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,006 to Trewella discloses a wrapper that can be easily peeled apart by the user. However, Trewella does not describe a wrapper, mechanism or method whereby a wrapped article is removed from its wrapping while being dispensed.
Neither the dispensers or wrappers described above describe the release of an article from its individual wrapper as the user pulls the wrapped article from the dispenser. Nor, do the prior art dispensers show a wrapper that is attached to a dispenser in such a manner that the wrapped item is ejected from the wrapper as the user removes the wrapper from the dispenser.
The prior art does not teach a dispenser which economically enhances the speed and ease with which a sealed article is delivered to the user--attributes which would facilitate and/or encourage the use of the article.
Two examples are illustrative. First, convenient and easy access to dean medical products in a doctor's office or emergency room frequently is hampered by current methods and designs for storing and dispensing products such as sutures, bandages, and other wrapped articles. Currently, most sutures and bandages are packaged in boxes. The user must search for the box and then for the individual item before even opening the item's sterile wrapper. The boxes are generally stored in drawers, cabinets or shelves. However, in a medical emergency, the need for fast, efficient dispensing of articles can be critical to positive outcomes of treatment.
The present invention obviates all these inconveniences and inefficiencies. Medical workers would find greater access to and improved ease-of-use for various wrapped products through use of the dispenser described by the present invention.
Second, increased ease and more frequent use of certain articles such as condoms by users could reap substantial social benefits if a dispenser is available to unwrap and dispense the article. For example, the federal government now openly promotes the use of condoms to avert the spread of the AIDS virus and other sexually transmitted diseases. However, as currently packaged and dispensed, condoms are inconvenient and difficult to use. People are likely to store the condoms in purses, wallets, bathroom cabinets, under the bed, and in many other inconvenient places. This discourages use at a time when the condom is actually needed. If the condom is not readily accessible, the likelihood of its use diminishes. More specifically, male condoms are often packaged in individual wrappers which are joined together using perforations between the wrappers. The user must therefore undertake, usually in a poorly-lit (night-time) environment; the following steps to use the condom: 1) locate the condom, 2) separate a wrapped condom from the other wrapped condoms, 3) tear open a wrapped condom, and 4) determine how to position the condom so that it unrolls properly. Each of these steps, inconvenient and frustrating to the user, is remedied by the present invention.
All dispensers heretofore known suffer from the disadvantages that once dispensed, the wrapped articles must still be unwrapped by the user, adding frustration or error if time is of the essence to the user. A problem which is compounded if multiple dispensings are necessary in a short period of time. Moreover, if the user is wearing latex gloves, the difficulty is further aggravated.